The Sydney Tar Ponds were a hazardous waste site on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.[1]
Located on the eastern shore of Sydney Harbour in the former city of Sydney (now amalgamated into the Cape Breton Regional Municipality), the Tar Ponds formed in a tidal estuary at the mouth of Muggah Creek, a freshwater stream that empties into the harbour. Throughout the 20th century, runoff from coke ovens associated with Sydney Steel Corporation's (SYSCO) now-decommissioned steel mill filled the estuary with the typical variety of coal-based contaminants and sludge.[2] Efforts to clean up the waterway were dogged by false starts, delays, and political controversy.[3] The coke ovens closed down but 12 years later, the toxic mess remained.[4] After extensive public consultation and technical studies, a C$400 million cleanup plan, jointly funded by the Government of Canada and Government of Nova Scotia, was announced in January 2007.[5] The cleanup was completed in 2013 with the opening of Open Hearth Park which is situated on the site of the former steel plant.[6]
- ^ Meisner, Mark (January 1, 1997). "Imagine No Resources". Alternatives Journal.
- ^ "Sydney Tar Ponds $15m clean-up". Haznews. April 1, 1996. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ^ Gjersten, Heidi (June 22, 1997). "Still the Worst: An Ambitious Clean-Up Scheme Failed and a Cover-It-Over Fix Was Rejected, So It's Back to Square One for the Sydney Tar Ponds". Alternatives Journal.
- ^ May, Elizabeth; Barlow, Maude (January 2001). "The Tar Ponds". Alternatives Journal. 27 (1).
- ^ "Canada's New Government and Nova Scotia Invest $400 Million in the Environmental Cleanup of Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens". CCNMatthews. January 28, 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ^ Auld, Alison (August 30, 2013). "Notorious Sydney tar ponds turned into 'beautiful' park". The Canadian Press. Toronto. Retrieved April 19, 2015.